In the Middle
by dress her up in fairytales
Summary: Lily Evans returns to Hogwarts for her sixth year. Trying to get over the lost of her best friend and the annoyance of a certain someone, Lily still manages to excel in her studies, but discovers more than she bargained for.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter, as you should well know. I am, however, an avid fan.

**Author's Note:** I'm re-reading the series and decided that Lily, James, Sirius, and all the other deserved to have something written about them. So, this is my attempt. I wish to do them a great justice.

This story takes place _after_ fifth year, when Snape called Lily a Mudblood (refer to Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix). Also, I include Alice and Frank Longbottom. If anyone knows Alice's maiden name, please, do tell me.

First and foremost, I am a _writer_. I willingly accept _constructive criticism_, not flaming. If you do not have an idea that could make this story better (such as wrong character portrayal, tension, obstacles), PLEASE HESITATE to review. On the other hand, if you simply wish to inform me that you would like to see more, do so. I would be thrilled to continue writing.

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><p>Lily Evans sat at her writing desk, toying aimlessly with her quill. She only needed a good paragraph or two to finish the Potions essay Professor Slughorn had assigned for the summer holiday. Everything else she had finished: Charms for Flitwick, and Transfiguration for McGonagall. Even her mapped star chart lay neatly folded in her school bag, ready to be handed in promptly when she returned to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in a fortnight.<p>

Lily dipped her quill into the inkbottle and scratched away on her parchment. Sure, she had written more than Slughorn wanted, but she knew he didn't mind—he never did. Lily read through the essay once more before she tucked it away, quite satisfied. She pushed strands of her red hair behind her ears before finally setting her quill down.

Although she loved being at home, she missed Hogwarts. She would be going into her sixth year. Her O.W.L.s had come in a few days before, and she had received extremely high marks in both Charms and Potions. She had eight O.W.L.s in all. Her parents were thrilled, remarking how lucky they were to have such a smart daughter, while her older sister, Petunia, sat at the dinner table, acting as if there were an awful smell right under her nose. Lily, however, paid no attention. Petunia had always acted strange whenever Lily was home, and though Lily took no notice of it, she wished her sister would show some interest.

The summer had been rather boring she had to admit, unless you counted keeping yourself busy with homework thrilling. Lately, she had kept replaying the events of June in her head.

"Why did you do it?" Lily asked herself, staring out the window. She squinted, thinking she had seen something flying across the sky. Then she realized this speck in the sky was coming closer and closer to her until the dark speck became an owl which perched itself right at her windowsill, waiting patiently for Lily to open the window.

She leaned over her writing desk and opened the window, causing the owl to crawl in and set itself on her desk. She could have recognized this owl anywhere—it was Severus's. Lily debated about whether or not to take the letter. Just a few months before, Severus had called her a Mudblood. She remembered the feelings that swelled up inside her—rage and indignation. So what if she was Muggle-born? Everyone raved about how good she was at magic that no one cared that she had Muggle parents.

Lily remembered the look of outrage on James Potter's face when Severus had uttered those words. Quickly and resolutely, Lily had regained her temper and set to smarting off at James. Of course, she had insulted James, too, but it was what he deserved. He bullied people to no end, simply hexing them whenever he felt like it. Where was his tact? But then she remembered he didn't have any, and neither did his best bud, Sirius Black. At least, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew seemed to have some sense.

The owl nipped at her fingers, asking her to remove the letter from his leg. Lily did so slowly. She hadn't talked to Severus at all. She blatantly ignored him on the train ride home, although it pained her to do so, and simply chatted with her friends to keep her mind free from thoughts of him. Lily held the letter in her hand. Sighing, she opened it, and read.

_Dear Lily,_

_I know you mostly likely didn't expect me to write you at all, and granted when I'm not doing homework, I'm thinking of some elegant way to apologize to you for the words I said last June. Unfortunately, there is no elegant way to say I'm sorry, so I'm just going to say it—I'm sorry for calling you a Mudblood._

Lily scoffed, but continued reading.

_The words tumbled out of my mouth before I knew what was happening—you know how Potter and Black are, they rile up the worst in me. I know, I know, you've told me hundreds if not thousands of times to not let them distract or anger me, but truly, it cannot be helped. They're so arrogant!_

_Nonetheless, I'm sorry a hundred million times over. Please forgive me. Perhaps we could meet up in Diagon Alley? I'll be there two days from now, on Friday. I'll buy you an ice cream. Again, I apologize._

_Sincerely,_

_Severus Snape_

Lily tossed the letter aside. The owl was waiting for her to write something in return. She debated whether or not she should. Quite frankly, she didn't want to. She rolled her quill around on her desk. Her inkbottle was still uncorked. However, there was a knock at her door and it opened to reveal Petunia.

Petunia wrinkled her nose when she saw the owl. "Can't you tell that thing to stay outside or something?" Lily didn't say anything. "Mum says dinner is ready." Petunia left, slamming the door behind her. Groaning at her sister's insolence, Lily stood.

The owl hooted and attempting to nip at Lily's finger again. "I'm sorry, dear. You'll have to return empty-handed." She gestured the owl back outside. Once on the windowsill, it took back off into the early evening sky.

Lily's parents dropped her off in London on Friday with great reluctance. They loved going into Diagon Alley with her, thrilled to see all the gizmos and gadgets that Muggles like themselves lived without. Her mother often claimed that magic would certainly make life a bit easier to live. Petunia, however, stuck up her nose. And unfortunately, Petunia was with them, and she needed to get some things for school, too. Knowing that Lily could handle things on her own, Mr. and Mrs. Evans went with their eldest daughter

"How about we meet back at three o'clock?" Mr. Evans said, looking at his watch.

Lily nodded. "Right then, Dad."

Mrs. Evans kissed Lily on the cheek and crawled back into the car.

Lily stood, waving goodbye until their car was out of sight. Then she stepped into the Leaky Cauldron. Fumes met her nostrils, tinged with something strong and pungent. The bartender, an elderly man with thinning hair and moustache, greeted her warmly.

"Sixth year, Miss Evans, sixth year!" he said.

Lily smiled. "Aye, what a great year it will be!" She stepped towards the back and opened the door, faced with a giant brick wall. Lily pulled her wand from her shoulder bag, tapped the bricks left to right, and watched as the bricks moved side to side, clearing a path, to reveal Diagon Alley.

September 1st was two weeks away, and Diagon Alley was filled with an assortment of witches and wizards, bustling around. Stepping in, Lily breathed in, relishing the familiar smells that reminded her of Hogwarts. Tucking her wand away, Lily pulled out her school supply list. She was thrilled to see there would be a new Potions book, and wondered what Professor Slughorn had in mind for the coming year.

After she went to Gringotts to get some money, she made her way to Flourish and Blott's. Although Lily hadn't told any of her friends she would be at Diagon Alley, she met her dear friend, Alice Reeves, accompanied by her boyfriend, Frank Longbottom. They were both delightful people. She wasn't as tall as Lily, and had thinned out over the summer. Her round face, however, was still notable. Frank had always been thin but he was at least a head taller than Alice and just a few inches taller than Lily. They greeted each other warmly.

"Our final year!" Alice said excitedly.

"I'm thinking it'll be quite dreadful—with N.E.W.T.s and all," Frank said, although he, too, looked excited. Both wanted to become Aurors after they left Hogwarts, and becoming an Auror took a lot of work.

"You'll both do splendidly," Lily said, smiling.

Together, they walked into Flourish and Blott's to buy their books. The list was surprisingly short, which gave Lily more time to skim through the new release section. Not seeing anything she wanted, Lily bought more parchment, a quill, and two inkbottles.

"Good to go?" Alice said.

Lily nodded. After they paid for their things, Alice meandered around in Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Lily wondered if Severus were around, but then quickly rejected the thought. Was she cruel not to meet him and allow him to apologize in person? Quite frankly, he had tried to catch up with her the week before the summer holiday, attempting to apologize, but she had avoided him.

When she stepped out of the robe shop with Alice and Frank, they chatted happily about their upcoming year and what would happen after they left Hogwarts. All the excitement from them caused a stir in Lily. She had two more years of Hogwarts left, and the professors had stressed the seriousness of the O.W.L.s because it would affect their career choice. Granted, Lily shouldn't worry about the N.E.W.T.s now, but being about Alice and Frank, she couldn't help it.

"Lily!" a voice called. She recognized it right away and debated whether not to turn around.

Alice, however, didn't. "Who's that?" she asked, peering behind them.

"My, I do think it's Severus Snape," Frank muttered.

Despite the noise in Diagon Alley, Lily clearly heard his footsteps and the faint swishing of his robes. When she turned around, he was at least two feet away from her, and breathless. He seemed to have run in order to catch up with her.

"Hello, Severus," Lily said coolly. He looked as pale as ever.

He could tell she was still displeased with what had happened. Glancing at Alice and Frank, he said, "Could we talk somewhere private?"

Before Lily could answer, Alice said, "We'll be in the Leaky Cauldron, Lily. See you there, yeah?" And she and Frank walked off.

Severus looked relieved to see them go. Lily adjusted the books in her hands while Severus led her over to an awning over a shop.

"Severus, please—" Lily began.

"I know I was horrible to you," he interrupted. "I just want to ask for your forgiveness."

It took everything in her not to sigh heavily and roll her eyes. "I thought I was your _friend_, Severus. You can't necessarily go around calling friends Mudbloods—even if I am one."

"But James and Sirius—"

"You can't blame _your_ action on what _they_ did to you."

"But you know how they are—what they did!"

"Are you going to blame everything you do on them?" Lily asked. "I've told you before you need to get a grip on yourself and ignore what they say to you. You cannot base your life on how they treat you."

"I'm not!" Severus said through gritted teeth. He looked like he was seething and Lily somehow regretted the words she said.

"I'm not saying that you _are_ basing your life around them," she said quickly. "It's just… you know…" She thought about how she could say this easily. "You're dappling in things you shouldn't."

Severus raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"

Lily bit her lip. She hated when this topic came up, and was determined to stir him away from the route she knew he was bent on taking. "The Dark Arts, Severus," she said softly.

He flinched. "Nothing else has ever worked for me," he said firmly.

"And so you think the Dark Arts will give you something in return?"

"It's something I am good out—something James and Sirius would never—"

"Oh, you know full well those two don't care for the Dark Arts one bit! Why do you think they torture you so?" Lily said, exasperated.

Severus was silent. He looked at her with deep brown eyes and wondered what she ever thought of him—to look at him twice as a friend. Now he felt as if he was losing her. "I just—I think that—" Quite honestly, he didn't know what to think, and staring at Lily resolutely into her bright green eyes, his words were caught in his throat.

Sighing, Lily said, "I'm sorry, Severus, but I cannot do this. I do not regret standing up for you in any way. You are heading down a path, and I prefer not to follow you. You called me a Mudblood." Somehow, she knew she wouldn't get over that.

Severus simply looked at her, waiting for her to say more, and trying to muster the strength to save himself. Unfortunately, he didn't have to.

"Oy! I found him!" a familiar voice rang out.

Severus and Lily both turned to see James Potter side-by-side with his best friend, Sirius Black. The two looked dreadfully happy, and Lily had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Lily turned back to Severus who looked apprehensive but had a determined look on his face.

"What makes you think you have a right to hang around Lily?" Sirius said to Severus. He brushed his dark hair away from his face.

"Oh, James, stop—" Lily began.

"He called a—a you-know-what!" James said, his voice clearly full of rage. His hazel eyes flashed to meet Lily's.

"Just stop it!" Lily nearly yelled. She didn't want to bother with them now. She would have more than enough of it at school. "As if he doesn't get enough of you two at school, you have to pester him here!" She stormed off, fuming, and decided to walk around, _away_ from the three of them in order to clear her mind. "He'll _never_ cease being an idiot," Lily muttered under her breath.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter. If I did, I'd be a rich woman.

**Author's note:** Thank you so much to GinnytheQueen for telling me Alice Longbottom's maiden name. Where did you find that, by the way? Also, I just finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and had forgotten that Snape's eyes are black. Forgive these mistakes. They will be thus fixed from here on out.

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><p>"Evans! Hey, EVANS!" a voice called. She ignored it, walking resolutely through the crowd, bumping into people and not bothering to apologize. But soon enough, James and Sirius had both caught up with her. They walked in front of her, blocking her path.<p>

Lily stood her ground, staring hard at both of them.

"I swear you have flames coming out of your eyes, Lily, with the looks you give us," Sirius said laughingly.

Lily didn't necessarily have as much of a problem with Sirius as she did with James. She thought Sirius was brave to go against the wishes of his family, who could trace their ancestry back to hundreds and hundreds of years ago. "I'd sure like to—" she began, but stopped herself, not wanting to stoop to their level.

"Like to what?" James said curiously. But she didn't continue. James eyed her. "You aren't hanging around that git, are you? After what he called you?"

"What's it to you?" she said. For a second, Lily thought she saw James let his guard down. But as soon as it had gone down, it came back up. "You act as if he cursed me or something. He only called me a—"

"Be serious, Lily," Sirius said, looking grim. "We saw the look on your face."

"Look, he's my _friend_—" Lily paused. Was he really? "Er, _was_ my friend, I suppose…"

"Well, there you are."

She rolled her eyes. "Come off it. He wouldn't be so bad if you guys would stop torturing him."

"But you would have to give us something in return," James said.

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"

"As if you don't know what he's been badgering you about for _ages_," Sirius said with a roll of his grey eyes.

James looked at her with some hope gleaming in his eyes.

"I've told you before! I'd rather date a toad than date you!" Lily said indignantly.

"I could arrange that," James said. "Me being the toad, of course—"

"Think again, Potter!" With a turn of her heels, Lily stomped off in the other direction, having no destination at all now. Truthfully, she simply wanted to bury herself in her new books, but the direction of the Leaky Cauldron was back towards James and Sirius.

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><p>September 1st rolled around quicker than Lily had thought. With her homework tucked safely at the bottom of her trunk and her cat in his cage, Lily and her father carried her things down the stairs and into the car. Despite Petunia's seething objections, Mr. and Mrs. Evans demanded that Petunia see her sister off at the train station. The car ride to London was cheerful, despite her older sister's attitude. Lily had the familiar butterflies in her stomach, excitement because she would be returning to Hogwarts once again.<p>

When they reached King's Cross Station at the platform between nine and ten, Mrs. Evans was already dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief. She always acted as if she would never see Lily again even though she always visited during Christmas and Easter holidays. Petunia stood with her arms crossed. Mr. Evans handed over the trolley to his young daughter and then pulled her in for a tight hug.

"Write to us, won't you?" he said.

"I always do, Dad," Lily said.

Mrs. Evans kissed her daughter on the cheek and mumbled faintly, "Good-bye, dear."

Usually, Lily's parents would walk with her through the platform, but with Petunia here, it was a different story. Lily stood in front of her sister. "Good-bye, Petunia." She embraced her sister in an awkward hug.

Petunia broke her crossed arms and stiffly returned Lily's hug. "Right—bye."

Lily took hold of her trolley and made a run between platforms nine and ten. When she opened her eyes, a gleaming scarlet steam engine stood in front of her. She heard the whistle of the train and the chatter of students and parents alike.

"Lily, there you are!" a voice exclaimed as Lily was handing over her trunk and cat to the train worker.

"Margaret!" Lily said, smiling. Margaret Whitely smiled back at her. Margaret had thick locks of curly brown hair which tumbled elegantly over her shoulders. Her teeth were white, straight, and she was extremely pretty with her heart-shaped face and brown eyes. The two embraced quickly. "How was your summer?"

Margaret waved a hand nonchalantly. That usually indicated she did something grand but thought of it as nothing. "Went to Spain for a few weeks. Interesting people, they are."

"Wow," Lily said, truly fascinated. She had never been outside of England before.

"Let's get on the train then. Fancy finding a—oh, I forgot," Margaret.

"What?" For a second, Lily thought Margaret was going to say something about how Lily always sat with Severus. But then Lily remembered her anger towards him, and knew she wouldn't be sitting with him on the train ride to Hogwarts for the first time in five years.

"You're a prefect."

"Well, yes, but I can sit with you as long as I go to the prefects' car first." Lily remembered quite distinctly telling Margaret the exact same thing the year before when Lily first received her prefect's badge.

"Let' s find one then," Margaret nearly shouted over the loud whistle of the train.

Lily looked around to see the station nearly empty of students. Parents were waving goodbye to their children. She wouldn't see this station again until Christmas. Lily followed Margaret onto the train, where the sound of compartment doors slamming shut, feet shuffling, and students chattering made her grin.

Fortunately, Margaret managed to find an empty compartment where she plopped into an empty seat and pulled out _The Daily Prophet_.

"I'm going to change into my robes and head to the prefects' car. I'll be right back," Lily said.

Margaret simply nodded, not bothering to look up from the newspaper.

Lily opened the compartment door and stepped out. The aisles had cleared more now that the Hogwarts Express had started moving. Lily found an empty bathroom car and quickly changed into her robes, pinning her prefect badge on carefully. She took a quick glance in the mirror, tucker her hair behind her ears, and left, making her way to the front end of the train, and slipped into the prefects' car. She headed towards Gryffindor's Head Boy, Jackson Yates, and Head Girl, Ramona Cox, who were already in their robes, their badges shining brightly.

She greeted fellow six year Ravenclaw prefects, Mark Lee and Yuna Wen, and sat down next to them. Lily had always liked Yuna, considering they had managed to have Transfigurations with Ravenclaw for the past two years. The compartment door opened loudly and Lily heard the thud of a body hit the floor.

Some prefects stood up to see what had happened. Lily heard the familiar laughter of James, Sirius, and this time, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. Remus stood up quickly, adjusted his robes, and then shut the compartment door quietly, ignoring the laughter of his friends. He took a seat next to Lily with a wide grin on his face.

"What was that about?" Mark asked curiously.

"Oh, nothing," Remus said quickly.

Of the people that James Potter hung around with, it was Remus that Lily was persuaded had more sense than James and Sirius had combined. His light brown hair reached his ears. He looked as if he hadn't combed it in a few days, or perhaps, Lily thought, he rough-housed with his friends. His robes were a bit shabby, but they looked clean. He looked thin, thinner than Lily had remembered, and there were faint dark circles under his eyes. Despite all that, he looked quite happy.

"Lily," Remus said, "fancy seeing you here!"

"Hello, Remus. Had a good summer?" she replied.

"As good as it could ever be," he said. Lily thought she saw a flash of shame on his face, but it was soon gone.

Before Lily could say anything else, Jackson, Ramona, and the other Head Boys and Girls called the prefects to order. She listened as they introduced the fifth year prefects of each house. Lily hardly recognized fellow Gryffindor Christopher Wilkes—he had grown taller and thinned out considerably over the summer holidays. Jenny Frost, on the other hand, hadn't changed much. She was still relatively plump with plain features.

"Reckon they'll do their job?" Remus whispered to Lily.

"Hopefully, better than you will," Lily said, remembering when Remus hadn't stopped Sirius and James from bullying Severus right after O.W.L.s last year.

Remus simply grinned as he turned his attention back to the Head Boys and Girls, who began explaining the general responsibilities of a prefect and Dumbledore's expectations. They reminded the prefects to tread lightly with Argus Filch who seemed to grow increasingly agitated as each year passed.

"Nothing new," Yuna mouthed to Lily.

Lily nodded slowly. She knew most of this information was for the new prefects, but she was obedient and sat still, her eyes in front of her. Then Christopher, Jenny, Jackson, and Ramona joined Remus and Lily while Mark and Yuna went to join the other Ravenclaws.

"Let's try to keep things in order this year," Jackson said, looking hard at Remus. "Professor McGonagall wasn't happy at all this past year."

Ramona nodded. Her blonde hair was plaited in a thick braid. "Let's do our rounds and then we'll meet back before we reach Hogwarts."

The prefects nodded and stood, going their separate ways, careening through the other prefects and Head Boys and Girls. Lily straightened her robes before she stepped out of the prefects' car. As she passed each compartment, she took a quick look inside, noting the Gryffindors. Just as she reached the compartment Margaret was in, there was a loud bang from the compartment next to hers. Lily heard roars of laughter and thought she saw smoke seeping through the cracks in the door.

Before Lily could reach the compartment, Remus did all but shoved Lily aside, striding for the compartment. When the door opened, smoke billowed out. Remus waved his hand in front of his face, trying to push the smoke aside.

"Remus! Would you look at that?" Lily heard James say.

She tried to stay still, tried to focus on Margaret, but she couldn't. She bustled over to Remus just as the smoke began to clear. James, Sirius, and Peter were all standing in a compartment with Severus. James and Sirius looked quite satisfied with himself while Peter wore a stupid grin on his face. Lily looked at Severus, whose face was blackened. His Muggle clothes were singed and there was soot and ash on his lap.

When Severus saw Lily, he jumped to his feet, the ash falling to the floor. He pulled out his wand and pointed it at James.

"Severus, no!" Lily said, pushing past Remus, James, and Sirius.

"Don't stand up for him again, Evans," James said, sneering. "He'll never be able to stand up for himself if a _girl_ keeps doing it."

Lily glared at James. "Don't you have something better to do?"

"This is so much more fun," he retorted.

Before Lily could say anything, Remus laid a hand on James's arm. "We aren't at school yet, James."

"That wouldn't stop him!" Sirius butted in.

Lily saw Severus's jaw lock tight. Rage flashed in his black eyes. "Put the wand away, Severus."

Severus hesitated. Why was it that _she_ was always there when Potter and Black were after him? Now Peter and Remus would be trailing after him, too. Finally, he put his wand away, knowing, in the back of his head, that he couldn't do anything—at least, not until they reached Hogwarts.

"Saving the day again," James said smugly, backing out of the compartment.

Lily didn't say a word, but watched instead as James left, followed by Sirius and Peter. Remus paused just as he was leaving, looked at Lily, said, "I'm sorry" then closed the door. She wasn't actually sure who or what Remus was apologizing for. Lily turned to Severus, who looked overjoyed to be in the same compartment with her.

She pulled out her wand, waved it at Severus, and soot and ash disappeared from the floor, his clothes, and left his face clean. Stuffing her wand away, she opened the door and started to leave.

"Lily," Severus said, "I don't mind if you stay—"

She turned on her heels to face him. "No, thank you." Lily stepped out of the compartment. Closing the door behind her, it took all her strength to let go of the handle and return to Margaret.

5


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